Valentino Resort 2015: The Unconventional

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli are on a mission to prove their since-2009 reign of Valentino has not been, as some accuse, all proper and prim. What better way to show the unexpected perspective of characteristics societally told to ‘be pristine’ than in referencing a woman who has done the same? –For Resort 2015, the design duo drew inspiration from Spanish artist Frieda Kahlo. The Valentino team applied Kahlo’s influence with an abstract hand. Chiuri and Piccioli cherry-picked the folkloric touches from her work, like the peasant ruffles, suede fringe, and the tropical animals from her self-portraits.

They tied them into the forest concept, used in past seasons, to make their frills feel feral: In the forest, lace and flora are more wild-and-whimsical than refined-and-regal. Still, from a hummingbird-printed ruffled-maxi to a suede minidress with a symmetrical leaf-print, a majority of the collection was indistinguishable from one of Kahlo’s own canvases. The classic Valentino details, like brocades and embellishments, sharp collars, and capes, kept the looks from imitation. They paired so-perfectly with Kahlo’s perspective, the artists seemed to embody the same spirit–the collection felt similar, but authentic none-the-less. “We are fascinated by the figure of the female artist, a character able to live following her own schemes and rules, not subjected to any kind of protocol,” Chiuri said.

And in the end it was this spirit, more than the butterfly-printed bomber or leather fringe moto, that elevated the collection from victorian to vivid. To encompass it, the team pulled a 1973 rainbow print from the brand’s archives to “visually disrupt” to the collection’s earlier, natural palette. The print saturated a group of looks in the center of their eighty-three outfit collection, including everything from a silk-pleated dress, cashmere double-breasted coat, and radzimir silk shorts. But for all it’s boldness, the graphic did not feel out-of-place in the lineup. While less-bold, Tie-neck silk blouses in animal prints paired with suede a-line skirts felt equally, as retro in silhouette.
Still, their natural touches by-way of transitioned easily to utilitarian outerwear items used to give the collection a more casual appearance . It is in line with the ‘frill and functional’ trend seen by brands like Burberry and Kors.

These functional bases, like the cargo coat with butterfly embroidery popped over a laser-cut mini dress, make the Valentio-whimsical wearable. Fashion is turning to the fanciful, look no further than the secret garden designs of Pamela Rolland. They are an easy parallel to the collection’s mod shift dresses in bold-and-unconventional color combinations that create the same visual ‘punch’ of the rainbow graphic, only in a way that can be dressed down into a daily-wardrobe item. Just as it happened to Kahlo, breaking the rules of classifications sometimes makes a purer version of the things being classified–her unconventionality became a more striking type of beauty. In the same way, the collection’s aloof seventies injection grounds it into the modern-day fashion. Form Diane Von Furstenberg to Guicci, the decade’s styles are having their second moment. Valentino proves what we never thought to look for is sometimes, just what we hoped to find.